even spoken to you when I could avoid it."

"That's false!" cried young Ardmore hotly.

"Stop, right there!" warned Dave Darrin in a quieter voice than ever,
though his face paled swiftly. "Did I understand you to remark that Miss
Meade had made a false statement?"

"You did!"

Whack! Darrin's clenched right fist caught the fop on the temple, felling
him to the ground.

"Go right on to Laura's, Belle," begged Dave quickly. "I'll be
along soon."

Miss Meade walked rapidly ahead.

Ardmore was on his feet in an instant. Not wanting in a certain amount
of animal courage, he rushed at Dave, only to be met with a blow in
the mouth that floored him again. The fop's lip was cut and bleeding
when he rose.

"You cur!" bellowed the fellow.

"The opinion of a person like you can't matter very much," Dave
retorted coolly.

A little crowd was beginning to gather. Dave's pallor increased, for his
very soul writhed at the thought of having Belle's name involved in a